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.CROSTIC SONNETS 



AND 

OTHER POEMS 




BY 



J. E. O'CONNOR 




ACROSTIC SONNETS 



AND 



OTHER POEMS 





BY 



J. E. O'CONNOR 



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OCT 16 1916 ©Ci.c.439«'-9 



CONTENTS 



TITLE 


PAG 


ACROSTIC SONNHIS 




Fine Arts' Palace 


I 


Charles E. Hughes . 


2 


Patrick H. Pearse 


3 


Golden Gate Park 


4 


Mount Tamalpais 


5 


Yosemite Valley 


6 


AN ACROSTIC 




William Jennings Bryan 


7 



OTHER VERSES 

William Jennings Bryan 
A Sonnet 

"A Chain o' Lakes" Reverie 
"The Thinker". 



COPYRir.HT 1916 BY J. E. O'CONNOR 



AN 

ACROSTIC 

SONNET 




air Vision, beautifuU rviihout a mate 



In all the world, art Thou lil^e mist to flee? 

Nay, here, O Captive Dream, Thy home must be. 

Enthroned forever by the Golden Gate. 

P^h, Weeping Maidens,'^ grieve not at your fate; 
Rejoice instead to dwell here by the sea. 
Through all the ages to eternity. 
Served as within no other land or state. 



ledge we our word on this Commencement Day, 
At Maybeck^s Marvel, loved, Olympian: 
Let on our path befall whatever may, 
A backward step from what we here began 
Can never be but ONWARD IS OUR WAY, 
Exalting Art, ennobling Life and Man. 



♦"Weeping- Maidens" — the popular appellation of the 
statues on the Colonnade. 

(Reprinted from the San Francisco "Examiner" of 
Dec. 4th, 1915. "Closing Day" of the Panama- 
Pacific International Exposition.) 



AN 

ACROSTIC 

SONNET 




J hoice of Convention and Columbia, 



Hail to Thee, Leader, learned, calm, sedate! 

America to-da"^ with glee elate 

Rejoices from Maine to California. 

Let /'hello fists'''^ retire to Africa; 

Enough n>e've had of preachers of race hate. 

Shall jingos bring upon us Europe's fate? 

^mphaticly NAY says America. 

imail. Harbinger of Peace Tvith all the world. 
Uniting all our people for one goal. 
Guiding the Ship of State Tvith flag unfurled. 
Hurrahed by all not hissed from pole to pole. 
Extending aid to those in war's hell hurled. 
Standing like Christ 'gainst Mar's and Mammon s 
toll! 



♦"Bellofist" — pronounced "bellow-fist," with the em- 
phasis on "bellow" — is derived from the Latin, 
like "Pacifist" (literally, "peacemaker"), and 
means in hyphenated Anglo-Saxon, "war-maker." 

(June 11th, 1916, the day following Mr. Hughes' 
nomination for the Presidency.) 



A N 
ACROSTIC 

SONNET 

T 
O 




atriot, Marty^r, slain for Liberty! 



Among the names that will forever shine 

To light men upward to the heights divine. 

Refulgent in Fame^s firmament will be 

Ireland's new heroes': PLUNKETT, CON- 
NOLLY, 

CLARKE, DALY, PEARSE, McBRIDE, 
MacDONACH, THINE,— 

Knights worthy of Hibernians fairest shrine. 

here's to Their and Thy sacred memory! 



eace to Your ashes and eternal rest! 
E'en though overcome by might as were JOHN 

BROWN 
And WARREN, like the bravest and the best. 
Receiving as did They the Martyr's crown; 
So Ye who died for Liberty are blest, — 
E'en dead Ye live to shake Wrong^s temple down. 



(Reprinted from the San Francisco "Examiner" of 
May 9th, 1916.) 

Note. — On May 8th, 1916, when the above was written, 
-the names of the following- heroes had not then 
been added to the roll of Erin's Martyrs: M. 
O'HANRAHAN, EDMUND KENT, CORNELIUS 
COLBERT, J. J. HEUSTON, MICHAEL MALLON, 
THOMAS KENT, SEAN McDERMOTT, F. S. 
SKEFFINGTON and SIR ROGER CASEMENT. 



AN 

ACROSTIC 

SONNET 




em of earth's gems, O Western Paradise 
On the Pacific s California shore. 
Like famed El'^sium of classic lore 
Dost Thou for all mans souVs desires suffice. 
Enamored with Thy charms not once nor twice 
Nor thrice hut ten times ten and many more 

(J^one have I to this Eden at our door 
And found therein a peace beyond all price. 
Tent-and-Verse-Ma^er Omar sang of wine. 
Extolling the grape, asking when he died 



ersian friends in a vineyard would consign 
All that remained of him, there to reside. 
Renouncing Mahmud's bliss for the grapevine. 
Khayyam-like here forcer would I abide. 



A N 

ACROSTIC 

SONNET 

T 
O 




ajestic Watcher o'er the Golden Gate, 



O Sentinel beside the Sunset Sea, 
Ultima Thule's last outpost, Tvesterl^ 
Nomadic man no further can migrate. 
Though standing like a sentry obdurate, 

(jjo Tvard intruders off apparently. 
Applying harsh 'Wepeller^' unto Thee 
Most rvrongly would Thy nature designate. 
Attracting all who from THE CITY flee. 
Loved, not feared like Thy brothers desolate. 
Proud, frigid, snow-capped from eternity, 
A WELCOMER OF ALL HUMANITY, 
Is Thy best title and Thy grandest trait. 
Superb, surpassing hospitality. 



A N 
ACROSTIC 

SONNET 




e Towering Cliffs and Ye Far-Falling Streams! 



Valle}) of the Cods, Thou Wonderland, 
Shaped h^ the Mighty Sculptor's master hand. 
Excelling all mans most colossal schemes! 
Mute, overawed, to me once more it seems 

1 stand upon exalted CLACIER and, 
Transfixt hp Th^ stupendous glories grand. 
Enraptured gaze, thrilled fcp a thousand themes. 



ERNAL the exquisite, unrivalled, queen, 
AHWAHNEE'' guarded by the SENTINEL, 
LAKE, mirror of Th^ grandeur, calm, serene, 
Lil^e BRIDAL'S mist across ml? memory float. 
Enchanted Vale, still haunts my soul Thy spell, 
YOSEMITE, like some great organ s note. 



•AHWAHNEE" was the Indian name for the Valley, 



AN 
ACROSTIC 




/ 

orld^s foremost Man, Thrice Leader, Thee we greet. 
Invincible despite Corruption s gold, 
Li^e Libert'^ triumphing o'er defeat. 
Like ''Truth crushed'' rising stronger and more bold. 

II 

Incarnate Spirit of Democracy, 
America Thine aid doth now invoke. 
May Thou Thy Country rvrest from plutarchy, 
^idst as did Washington from alien yoke. 

Ill 

Enshackled Labor lifts to Thee his hands 

Now bound, his lips closed by Injunctions thongs. 

Not privilege but justice he demands. 

In Thee he has a friend to right his wrongs. 

IV 

Not for an empire but Republic free 
Cave the Forefathers their hearts' sacred gore. 
Sweep from the throne. Their Spirits call on Thee, 
etrayers of their trust; Their work restore. 



V 
"'Rienzi of the West," great Tribune hail! 
Years hast Thou battled 'gainst Right's foes malign, 
Among the names that will o'er death prevail. 
No name deserves to live more than does Thine. 



(July 10th. 1908. the day Mr. Bryan was chosen for 
the third time the Leader of the Democracy.) 



GREETINGS TO WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN 

"First in Peace and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen." 




o 



/ 

Welcome, William Jennings Bryan! 

Welcome! and your stay prolong. 
We who've loved you, love you more noTV 

For your gallant stand 'gainst wrong. 
From our peaceful homes and workshops. 

From our plains and seashores long. 
From our farms and from our cities, 

'Round your standard miliions throng. 

II 

Warrior upon war, Welcome! 

Peace's Chieftain brave and strong. 
Conqueror by love and reason. 

Not by sword or gun or thong. 
Better than a horde of jingos 

To protect us from war wrong. 
Is the man beloved and honored 

From the Andes to Hong Kong, 



III 

Welcome to our ''Jewel City'* 

In the land of sun and song! 
Welcome to ten thousand firesides 

Which to-day to you belong! 
You have won our hearts' devotion. 

Battling ever Against the strong, 
PEERLESS PLEADER FOR EACH JUST 
CA USE, 

FEARLESS FOE OF EV'RY WRONG. 



(July 5th, 1915, "BRYAN DAY" at the Panama-Paciflc 
International Exposition.) 




A SONNET 



Ithough I met Thee first but yesterday. 

It seems to me our souls have ^noipn before 
In some past age, on some celestial shore. 

Ere doomed to dwell mthin these prisons of clay. 

One image ever o'er my thoughts held sway 
And I did often ask if eaHh e'er bore 
A being lil^e to her I brooded o'er; 

But years passed on and none did cross my way. 

But when Thine Angel Face mine eyes beheld. 
My soul Was thrilled with sweetest ecstasy. 

For then I knew that on the earth there dwelled 
The Being divine, etherial, heavenly. 

Whom but a dream though long to think compelled. 
At last I knew was a reality. 



A "CHAIN O' LAKES" REVERIE 




/ 

erenel^ shines the full May Moon, 
Bathing the hills Tvith gentle light. 

I, by a woodland lal^e aswoon. 

Sit dreaming filled with pure delight. 



II 

The- Zephyrs wander thru the trees 

And sweetest fragrance with them hear; 

And from across the lal^e, the breeze 
Wafts heav'nly music on the air. 

Ill 

All this my soul feels and much more. 

When thought of THEE steals o'er my mind, 
MOONLIT LAKE! MUSIC! SYLVAN 
SHORE! 
BREEZE LADEN WITH PERFUME! 
combined. 



(The "Chain o' Lakes" 
Francisco.) 



Lre in Golden Gate Park, San 



10 



RODIN'S 



LE PENSEUR" 



i 


v^M 


1 



/ 

pon a rock THE THINKER sits and thinks. 
His head upon his hand, and never blinks 

An eye but steadfast gazes on the ground. 
As silent and as solemn as the Sphinx. 



II 

What might]) thoughts are born within that brain? 
What dreams are dreamt? What songs are sang? 
Explain, 

THINKER, what Thou thinkest of, I beg. 
And make for once and all Thy meaning plain. 

Ill 

Methought THE THINKER from his seat arose; 
Meihought he spoke and what do you suppose 

1 heard? Well, this is what he said to me: 
*'Tm thinkin' how Til get a suit o' clothes.'' 



(Reprinted from the San Francisco "Examiner" of 
March 29th, 1916.) 



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